Contents

Understand

Get in

Get around

Very reasonably priced buses, (in the form of mini buses) that travel around most of the island can be boarded in Roseau. Destinations are not usually posted on the front, but local people are very helpful and can tell you where the bus stops are for each town.

See

French Quarter - The most historic section of the city, the streets are lined with picturesque wooden buildings; most with beautiful balconies.

Roseau Cathedral - A beautiful black stone cathedral, built in the Gothic style

Dominica Museum - An excellent, if small museum, on Dominica's history and nature

Botanical Gardens. The botanical garden is located just east of downtown (accessible via St George V Street) and is a great place to spend an hour or so wandering the landscaped green fields. It is open to the public and there is no charge. There is a nice hike from the botanical garden up the hill to the east, which offers a wonderful view of Roseau and the Caribbean Sea. The hike is of easy-to-moderate difficulty and will take a novice hiker perhaps 40 minutes one-way. The hike allows for up-close exploration of many native Caribbean plants, many of which are common house plants outside of the tropics. A small shrine is located at the top of the hill, near a look out.

Do

The Emerald Pool. Most natives know where it is. It will feel cool at first but it takes only 2-3 minutes to get used to it. The water in the pool feels very pure and soft against your skin. You could relax in there for hours.

South of Roseau is an area known as Champagne, a clever name meant to attract visitors. That said, there is no charge to visit the area and it is quite nice. The name comes from the mild underwater geothermal activity, which produces gas bubbles that float from the bottom of the sand to the surface - producing a wonderful tickling sensation on the body. The beach in this area (like around most of Dominica) is fairly nice. Expect to comfortably spend about 1-3 hours at Champagne. You can access this area by taxi, bus or private car and you will need to walk down from the road to the water.

Soccer. Soccer games in Roseau are played on the local field. They occur fairly often and are a great popular spectator sport. There is a small entrance fee.

Buy

Sundays in Roseau are very quiet and more store-fronts (and many restaurants) are closed. Best to plan for a nature-day on Sundays. However, make sure your transportation is planned because buses and taxis will either not be operating or at much less frequency.

Highlights for travellers in Roseau include the Saturday morning market near where the Roseau River meets the Caribbean Sea. The market vendors start setting up very early (before dawn) to ensure they get good stall locations and snacks can be had by revellers returning late from Friday night festivities. The market is a great place to buy frsh fruit, seafood, and spices. There is less variety but still good prices for vegetables, meat and goods.

Food Market - Located on the north end of town, this market abounds with vendors selling all manner of tropical fruit

Eat

Calabash Heights in Roseau provides delicious rasta Italian food and is strictly vegan. *Coconuts is an excellent restaurant in central Roseau. It is owned by the Minister of Health and is accommodating to travelers with every range of special needs (especially of those who have gluten allergies because the owner's wife is, herself, allergic to gluten).